Richard Hughes quits over new five-day ban

Website?

Just a blog i send some threads to,busy though paper.li/sidfernando/International

The ammount of times in NOT the case here, the jockeys agreed to 7 times. THE PROBLEM is that at the 201(yards(1 furlong +1yd))m mark and above they can hit the horse 2 times and from 200m (yards(1 furlong downwards)) they can hit it 5 times towards the finish.

Hughes points out that in the hustle and bustle of a race its hard to see if you are before or after the furlong pole.. A horse in full stride covers 20m in 1 second so do the math.......NOW his point is that he got 10 days for hitting a horse 6 (six) times after the furlong pole, yet had he hit it once just before the furlong pole and then the other 5 oafter he would have been ok.

This is a ridiculous situation...surely anyone can see this.

Therefore the amount of times IS the case here, IF coupled with when!

Every sport has rule changes. We must adapt to the rules and that is it. Got given a dvd of an apprentice riding some winners is Korea. He would have been better off not showing me as all he could do was hit the horse. Most horses just need a whip as an aid NOT used as a weapon on them by some jockeys who see it as a 1st option not the last one.

The way the jocks have reacted,I have to assume that they were not consulted or contributed to the final decision.
It would seem reasonable that they should have a say and also,a universal rule would surely make sense!

If I remember I am sure the article in The Sporting Post said they had been consulted and had agreed. Will check when get to stables just now. Frankie also said the jockeys must adapt to the new rules.

Craig,how clear is our rule? ...ie.when we see "misuse of whip" is that clear cut or a matter of opinion?

How else besides saying only 5 or 6 or 7 in the last 200m. It has to be precise or it will be abused or taken the wrong way.

CHRISTOPHE SOUMILLON said he was "embarrassed for English racing"

"I am not here to whip horses, I'm here to make the horse run his best. These whips are soft and maybe I should have hit him earlier. You're going flat out, there is a huge crowd here and advertising everywhere, how are you meant to see a tiny furlong marker.

"For the sake of 2o yards, I've been punished and lost £50,000, my valet will be paid, so will my agent, but I will not. This will have a big impact on my title challenge in France also.

"In what other sport do you see such big punishments for a little offence? It doesn't happen to Michael Schumacher or Zinedine Zidane, and they earn ten times what we do.

here's another point - if you watch the Frankel replay of yesterday you will notice that the UK track is up and down, whereas in SAF, the tracks are flat. This could be a reason why a mere 5 whip smacks of which 2 can be in the final 200m is not going to be applicable...? I can imagine running uphill would need a whip show or two... on the other hand, as reported the week before in the UK press, certain jockeys being fined for whipping a horse 24 times - really jock, was this really necessary???? (Maguire 17 times and Dettori 24 times - Racing Post of Saturday)

Richard Hughes, Ryan Moore, Frankie Dettori and Tony McCoy all attended the meeting today representing the Jocks,they must all feel the same about the new rules..